Video summary
The 2027 Toyota Land Cruiser is presented as a robust off-road icon that balances rugged capability with modern technology, available in two distinct trim levels: the heritage-focused 1958 and the feature-rich Land Cruiser. The review highlights that regardless of the chosen trim, the vehicle is powered by a shared powertrain consisting of a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with two electric motors, delivering a combined 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel-drive system. This setup achieves a 0 to 60 mph time of approximately 6.6 seconds, providing ample acceleration for highway merging while maintaining fuel efficiency ratings of 22 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway when running on premium fuel.
Beyond its engine performance, the Land Cruiser is equipped with an extensive suite of off-road technologies designed to handle diverse terrains, including crawl control, downhill assist control, center and rear locking differentials, and an optional stabilizer bar disconnect system. The vehicle features a sophisticated suspension setup with independent double wishbone front and four-link rear designs, complemented by ventilated front discs and solid rear discs that offer respectable stopping distances. Inside the cabin, drivers can customize their experience through various drive modes—such as Eco, Normal, Sport, Auto, Dirt, Sand, Mud, and Deep Snow—which adjust shift points, throttle response, and steering sensitivity. The steering feel is notably heavy in Sport mode for a more traditional off-road grip but lightens up in Normal mode, while the ride quality remains smooth and composed on paved roads.
The interior and exterior design emphasize both utility and distinctive styling, with the Land Cruiser trim featuring a larger 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen compared to the smaller screens found in the 1958 model. A standout feature is the rear window that can be manually opened via a button under the wiper, allowing passengers to enjoy fresh air and views while remaining protected by the glass frame. The cargo area offers 37.5 cubic feet of space behind the second row, expanding to 82.1 cubic feet when the seats are folded, and includes amenities like a 120-volt outlet, USB ports, and tri-zone climate control that allows rear passengers to set their own temperature. While the reviewer praises the LED yellow fog lights, the two-tone roof option, and the openable rear window as exceptional features, there is some criticism regarding the interior materials, which include more black plastic than expected for a vehicle priced over $70,000.
Ultimately, the 2027 Toyota Land Cruiser stands out as a capable off-roader that retains its legendary status while integrating modern safety and convenience features like Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, a head-up display, and a comprehensive airbag system. Although the reviewer notes that the interior quality feels slightly basic for its price point compared to luxury rivals like Lexus, the vehicle's genuine off-road prowess, unique design elements like the body-colored shark fin antenna and rigid fog lights, and practical features make it a compelling choice. The review concludes that while there is room for improvement in terms of premium material usage and potentially offering body-colored exterior accents to match previous generations, the Land Cruiser successfully delivers on its promise as an iconic, high-performance SUV that can tackle everything from deep snow to sandy dunes with confidence.
Read the full video transcript
[music] What's up you guys? We're back
to another one. If you are new to the
channel, I am Gold Pony. I do new car,
truck, SUV reviews on YouTube. And today
we are in the brand new 2027 Toyota Land
Cruiser courtesy of Younger Toyota in
Hagartown, Maryland. For more
information on their inventory, please
feel free to check out the link in the
description box below. So, we are this
one today because the Land Cruiser is a
true off-road monster. There's also a
new highmount air intake available that
goes for $980 if you wanted that. Uh,
great design in my personal opinion and
you still get 2 years or 25,000 mi of
complimentary maintenance. So, that's
going to save you a little bit of money
there as well. So, ultimately in this
video, we will be testing out and going
over everything about this one from
acceleration to braking, steering feel,
ride quality, sound system, exhaust
clip, all that fun stuff. So, having
said all of that, what do you guys say?
Let's just go ahead and jump right into
it. And as always, let's start with
pricing. And so, as you can imagine,
there are a couple different
configurations for the 2027 Land
Cruiser. You got the Land Cruiser 1958
starting at $57,880,
which is a $680 bump for the 2027 model
year. Then you got the Land Cruiser,
which is the name of the trim level,
believe it or not. That one starts at
$63,955.
That is the trim level that we have with
us here today. But regardless of the
trim level that you go with, the power
plant on this beast is going to be the
same. Powering the Land Cruiser is a 2.4
L turbocharged 4-cylinder with two
electric motors. This puts out a
combined 326 horsepower at 6,000 RPM,
465
pound- feet of torque, coming in at
1,700 RPM. Power sent to all four wheels
through a fulltime four-wheel drive
system. Power sent to the ground through
an 8-speed automatic. 0 to 60 time is
going to come in at approximately 6.6
seconds with MPG numbers coming in at 22
in the city, 25 on the highway, taking
premium unlimited fuel. But said that
before we do any kind of fun
acceleration test here in the Land
Cruiser, I do want to mention to you
guys the drive modes. There's a circular
dial kind of located just in front of
the shifter there. But drive modes will
include eco, normal, sport, auto, dirt,
sand, mud, and deep snow. That's a lot
of different drive modes, essentially
adjusting things like the shift points,
the throttle response, and the steering
sensitivity. So, now having got all of
that out of the way, what do you guys
say? Let's go ahead and find a
straightaway. Let's put the acceleration
here to the test and let's see how
quickly we can get our new 2027 Toyota
Land Cruiser here up to speed. All
right, found our straightaway here in
three, two, one, go. There it is.
That's not that bad. I mean, there was a
little bit of delay for whatever reason.
You would think the two electric motors
would eliminate any kind of delay, but
still 0 to 60 is 6.6 seconds. It's
plenty respectable. Plenty of
acceleration to merge you onto any
highway here in the US. So, it's nothing
that crazy. It's not going to blow you
away. This is a larger SUV after all,
but it's plenty. It's definitely enough
to merge onto the highway. But two, go
along with that acceleration. As always,
braking is equally important. So, up
front, you will find 13.1 in ventilated
front discs. At the back, 13.1 in solid
rear discs. As far as that 60Z stopping
distance goes, comes in at a respectable
117 ft. There is absolutely nothing
wrong with that number whatsoever. As
far as braking feel goes, it's pretty
darn good. It's actually a little bit on
the softer side. It's not a super firm
braking feel or anything like that, but
typically what I say is anything in the
11s is a sport sedan number when it
comes to braking. So, 117 ft for a
vehicle the size of the Land Cruiser
100% on point. I love that. But then
touching on suspension and handling up
front you're going to get an independent
double wishbone type front suspension in
the back fourlink rear suspension front
and rear stabilizer bars. But you also
get crawl control which is a really cool
feature. So when you take this thing
maybe to Ocean City, Maryland or
Asetique Island if you're from Maryland
anyways, but it's going to go right
through it. The crawl control is
definitely going to help get you through
the sand. So I absolutely love that. You
also get downhill assist control. You
get center and rear locking
differentials as well, which can split
the power 50/50 for improved traction,
of course. And there is an available
stabilizer bar disconnect system as well
if you wanted to really go off-roading.
But overall, since we're on road right
now, as far as ride quality goes, it's
been perfectly fine. I've had absolutely
no issues when it comes to ride quality.
As far as steering feel goes, actually,
let me see. Wow, it's definitely on the
heavier side of things. So, that's kind
of cool. Maybe it's in that sport
driving, man. That's probably why. Let
me take it out of sport driving mode
just for googles here. Yeah, that
definitely loosens up. So, if you want a
more traditional steering feel, put it
in the normal driving mode. If you
wanted a heavier feel to the steering,
that's what the sport driving mode is
for. And it's touching on cabin noise.
We're going 53 mph right now, so I'll be
quiet here for a second.
Yeah, maybe a little bit of wind noise,
but it's nothing that would bother me,
so that's perfectly on point. Taking a
look at rear visibility. This is one of
my favorite parts. So, looking out the
rearview mirror here, I could see pretty
darn good out the back. You shouldn't
have any issues with that. So, that's
perfectly on point. But the cool thing
about the rear visibility is for one, if
I tap this little thing here underneath
the rear view mirror, I got a rear
camera mirror. So, that's mounted on the
outside of the vehicle. So, if you have
the cargo area piled up to the roof in
the back going on a road trip, you can
still see what is behind you because the
rear camera mirror is there. So, I think
that's super cool. But in addition to
that, the rear window actually opens up
as well. So, if you were to back this
thing up to the ocean at Asetique
Island, that's going to be pretty cool.
That's going to assist with visibility,
I guess you could say. Also, rain
sensing windshield wipers do come
standard on the Land Cruiser. So,
whenever this thing detects any kind of
mist or rainfall, it's going to
automatically turn on the windshield
wipers for you. Kind of like automatic
headlights. Just one less thing you got
to worry about there. And I'm actually
looking at a head-up display right now.
It's kind of hard to see with polarized
sunglasses, but without them, it is
super bright. I got my speed, speed
limit, uh what gear I'm in, and then
safety features to the right there as
well. So, [snorts] that's pretty cool,
too. But that's optional, by the way.
But that pretty much rounds out the
performance segment of this review, you
guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look
at the exterior now of our brand new
2027
Toyota Land Cruiser. All right, so here
she is, you guys. The new 2027 Toyota
Land Cruiser finished in Trail Dust. in
case you were curious of our exact
exterior color name, but probably the
coolest color on this car. But anyways,
let's go ahead and start with where the
Land Cruiser is made. Taking a look at
the VIN. First character is the letter
J, indicating that the Land Cruiser is
built and assembled in Japan as it
should be. And actually, final assembly
point in case you were curious, is
Tokyo. I think everyone has heard of
that city. But starting up front, you
get that Toyota Heritage front grill, of
course. To the sides, LED headlights.
Get circular lights though for the 1958
trim level and then rectangular lights
like you guys are looking at for the
Land Cruiser trim level. So that's
really the easiest way to distinguish
between the two trim levels is the style
of the headlights. But anyways, LED
daytime running lights. Of course, you
get the automatic feature with those
headlights. You also get automatic high
beams. So if you have your high beams on
at night and senses the vehicle coming
in the opposite direction, it's going to
automatically dim them back to low
beams. Then when that vehicle is gone,
it's going to automatically bounce back
up to high beams for you. There. You got
to appreciate those LED fog lights
finished in yellow. They are rigid fog
lights and they look absolutely amazing.
Get some Fred skid plates. I'm going to
actually get up a little bit closer. I'm
going to try to show that to you guys.
That's why I pulled it up on the gravel.
So, get some front skid plates
underneath to protect the underc
carriage. Got to love that. And as far
as ground clearance goes, it comes in at
8 in even. And that's plenty fine. I
think that's plenty good enough to do
any kind of light off-roading here. So,
anyways, that pretty much rounds out the
front end of the Land Cruiser. Let's now
go ahead and swing around to the side.
So, announce we are around to the side
of this one. Roof rails will come
standard on the Land Cruiser trim level
that we have with us here today. There
is a two-tone roof available. I wanted
to mention that as well because we got
that particular option. I think it looks
pretty darn good. Rear privacy glass
does come standard, of course. Running
boards coming on that Land Cruiser trim
level again that we have with us here
today. As far as the side mirrors go,
they are gloss black power adjustable
side mirrors. will be heated with LED
integrated turd signals for both trim
levels. Then taking a look down at the
wheel setup, each particular trim level
is going to get its own design. 18-in
dark gray metallic alloys for the 1958
and then 18-in matte gray alloys for the
Land Cruiser. And of course, there are
optional wheel configurations available
like we have with us here today. But
that pretty much rounds out the side
profile. Let's now go ahead and swing
around to the back. Right. announced
since we are around to the back of this
one. Starting all the way to the top,
you got a bodycoled shark fin antenna.
Just below that rear spoiler with an
integrated brake light. Just below that,
you got the rear window wiper. And of
course, like I said earlier, this rear
glass does open up, which is absolutely
amazing. And that is done through this
button right here. I'm go ahead and
press that real quick. And then you just
lift up underneath the rear wiper there.
And the rear window opens up. That is so
stinking cool. I absolutely love that.
So you can chill in the back area and
just look out onto the ocean. And such a
cool feature. Anyways, LED taillights do
come standard for both trim levels of
the Land Cruiser, of course. And then
just below it all underneath on the
driver's side there, you will find a
single exhaust outlet. Just to the side
of that is the spare tire, in case
anybody was curious where that was
located. But back to the exhaust. I do
believe you guys know what we have to do
next. Here, as always, here is that
exhaust clip.
So now since we are around to the back
of the Land Cruiser, when it comes to
opening that rear lift gate, it is going
to be a manual rear lift gate if you go
with the 1958 trim level, but it is then
a power lift gate if you were to go with
the Land Cruiser trim level. But there
is a button on the key fob. There, of
course, is a rubberized button on the
liftgate itself then as well. But once
opened up, cargo capacity behind that
second row comes in at an impressive
37.5 cubic feet. If that was not enough
space, of course, the rear seats do fold
down. That's going to bump that up to
82.1 cubic feet. So, decent amount of
space there. 120 volt power outlet in
the back. You got LED cargo lighting.
There are chromeplated tie- down
anchors. Little bit of in flooror
storage. Not a ton of it, but you do get
a little bit, so that's kind of nice.
Um, and then USB charging ports actually
back there as well. But then making our
way up to the rear leg room that comes
in at 36.7 in. For reference, I'm an
even 6 ft tall. This is how much space I
had in the second row there. Rear center
armrest with cup holders does come
standard. There's a 12volt power outlet
back there. There's dual rear USB
charging ports. You got to appreciate
that. And trizone climate control,
believe it or not. So, the rear
passengers can actually set their own
individual temperatures back there. And
one more thing, there's an available
heated and ventilated rear seats as
well. We got that with us here today.
So, that's pretty stinking cool. But
then making our way up to the front
seats, manually adjustable cloth seating
for the 1958. Heated front seats also
coming standard softex upholstery coming
with the Land Cruiser trim level. Land
Cruiser is also going to give you
ventilated front seats along with an
8-way power driver seat with power
lumbar. Overall, as far as seat comfort
goes, it was plenty fine for me. I
didn't have any issues with the seat
comfort. It was okay. Nothing crazy. Not
like Lexus good, but it's pretty good.
So, then making our way to the steering
wheel, it is tilt and telescoping. It is
going to be leather wrapped for both
trim levels and power adjustable only if
you go with the Land Cruiser trim level.
So, that was plenty fine as well. Then,
making our way to the startup, let me
start by showing you guys key here. You
got your Land Cruiser lettering on the
one side. Then, when you flip it over,
lock, unlock, and that button to pop the
rear tailgate there, but it is all
keyless entry with a push button start.
So, all I'm going to do here is simply
put my foot under the brake and press
that engine start button located kind of
by the driver's right knee there. And so
once started up, there is a 7-in digital
gauge cluster for the 1958 and then a
12.3in digital gauge cluster for the
Land Cruiser trim level. So you get a
larger digital screen if you were to go
with that Land Cruiser trim level.
Essentially also makes some pretty cool
graphics when you change the drive mode
and it's going to adjust the colors ever
so slightly as well when you go ahead
and change drive mode. For example, if
you put it in sport, you're going to get
some red hues. Normal is a blue hues and
then eco is going to be it looks like
like a cyan kind of thing. So, it does
give you how many miles you have left
until you hit empty. There's trip A,
trip B. There's your average fuel
economy. Um, which by the way, we're
averaging 17.5 m per gallon, which isn't
the best, but then again, we did an
acceleration test and it's been sitting
here for a while now, so I guess that
makes sense. Got your outside
temperature as well. And overall, I
think the gauges look pretty darn good.
Now, let's go ahead and make our way to
overall interior quality. There is a
power moon that is optional on the Land
Cruiser trim level. We have that option
with us here today. I personally love
it. LED interior lighting does come
standard. Wireless phone charger is
going to be optional on the Land Cruiser
trim level. We got that option as well.
Auto dimming rearview mirror with
homeless controls does come standard.
Trizone climate control like I was just
telling you guys. Just behind the
wireless phone charger is the cup
holders. Everything surrounding the
shifter is finished in kind of like this
bronze look which I actually like. It's
better than leaving it like a matte
black plastic or something like that.
So, I like the bronze look there. And
then within the center armrest, there is
a decent amount of space in there. I
like the circular air vents, like the
fighter jet style air vents with the
texturized surrounds. I think that looks
pretty darn good. If I'm being honest, I
probably expected a little bit more at
this price point as far as interior
quality goes, but that's not really what
the Land Cruiser is known for. It's more
known for its off-road capabilities. So,
I'll just leave it at that. But then
make your way to the infotainment
screen. Yet again, there's two different
screens for two for two different trim
levels. So, you get an 8 in color
touchscreen display for the 1958 and
then a 12.3 in color touchscreen display
for the Land Cruiser trim level. Either
way, you get Bluetooth and audio
streaming, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay.
You can check out your driving
statistics up there if you wanted to.
It's also off-road information. I just
found that. That is pretty stinking cool
as well. It gives you kind of like your
elevation, your angles, and stuff like
that. So, that's kind of wild. And of
course, you can check out your radio
information up there as well. Also, when
it comes to the sound systems, you get
six speakers for the 1958 and then a 10
speaker sound system for the Land
Cruiser. So, having said that, I do
believe you guys know what we have to do
next here. Let's go ahead and turn on
the radio, see what we got playing
today, and let's test out the clarity of
this one.
[music]
All right, so that was okay. It's
actually a decent sound system. Plenty
of bass there. Um, clarity was pretty on
point, but I don't know. I just thought
there was going to be a little bit more.
I guess I'm used to like Mark Levenson
and Lexus and all that stuff, but I do
like the little volume knob located just
to the left of the infotainment screen.
Not all vehicles have the volume knob,
but there is also uh steering wheel
mount controls. You can turn up and down
the volume that way as well. But
overall, it's okay. I don't have any
issues with the sound system. But last
thing I wanted to mention to you guys on
the infotainment screen is when you do
put the Land Cruiser in reverse, you
will find your rear view camera coming
standard across the board. Got that 360°
monitor there to the left as well,
giving you the bird's eye view. That's
always convenient. But that as always is
going to lead us into safety. And so
front side curtain airbags do come
standard driver and passenger knee
airbags up front as well. In the back
you got latch aka lower anchors to
tethers to children for the rear car
seats for your child door locks. Top
pressure monitoring system but also
coming standard the fun stuff. Toyota
Safety Sense 3.0 0 that gives you a
pre-colision system with pedestrian
detection, dynamic radar cruise control,
lane departure alert with steering
assist, lane tracing assist, road sign
assist, proactive driving assist, a
blind spot monitoring system with rear
cross traffic alert and front and rear
parking sensors then as well. So
overall, I want to custom my final
thoughts here of the Land Cruiser. Great
design. Love the LED yellow fog lights.
That's my favorite part on the exterior.
That looks so dang good. very off-road
capable as well with the uh stabilizer
bar disconnect system. And uh I've
tested out Toyotas in the snow before on
my other videos on the channel. And
they've just absolutely crushed it. And
I've driven them in pretty deep snow. So
I got full confidence when it comes to
driving this thing in the snow at this
point. Uh rear window opens up. That's
one of those features that I don't think
anybody else does but Toyota. So I
absolutely love that as well. As far as
room for improvement goes, maybe a
little bit on the basic side when it
comes to interior quality for the price
point at least. like this one that we're
in today is over 70 grand. And there's a
lot of just black kind of plastic like
surrounding the cup holders and on the
doors and stuff like that. So, I don't
know, just expected a little bit more
there. And then the other thing is, and
maybe it's just me, is that the matte
black side panels and fender surrounds
on the exterior as well. I I don't know.
Like, I know it's going for that
off-road look. I get that. But I feel
like if there was maybe an option to
make them bodycoled, it may look a heck
of a lot better because I know the
previous generation Land Cruiser before
this generation came out had all the
bodycoled accents. It was more of like a
a high-end off-roader. And this kind of
looks more like just an off-roader but
with a high-end price. So, I don't know.
I feel like bodycoled accents on the
exterior would still look good. But
anyways, let me know what you guys think
of the Land Cruiser in the comments
section below. That's about it for this
one, you guys. Thank you so much for
watching. Feel free to follow me on
social media stuff at the bottom of the
screen if you want to see what's coming
next on the channel. Before it gets to
YouTube, be sure to hit the subscribe
and the bell notification button if
you're new to car reviews. That is what
I've been doing for 12 years now. I do
appreciate you guys watching more than
you know and I will see you guys all in
the next video.
Stay gold.
[music]